KNOWLEDGE BASE

The sensational news are
coming from American scientists – brain proteins can stop alcoholism. They play
an important role in tolerance of alcohol.

Brain proteins bind to alcohol probably can
cure alcoholism – such news were written in journal of the Society for
Neuroscience in USA. This important brain protein is called MUNC 13-1 and it
has a pivotal role in the development of tolerance to alcoholism.

Now, the problem of drinking too much of
alcohol, is the most important in the world. This is a mental health problem.
Scientists try to find out how the ethanol and alcohol destroy people and change
their brain, when they are in addiction. And in this year they developed the
way of functioning the tolerance to alcohol.

If somebody tolerates alcohol, he can drink
more and more of alcohol. But he can be sure it will end with addiction. So some
people have such possibilities in their brain that they tolerate alcohol and
because of this they drink too much. Scientists want to stop alcohol from binding
into MUNC 13-1. In their opinion it will help with alcohol addiction, by
reducing tolerance for it. They think that if they will reduce the tolerance it
will help to reduce addiction too.

MUNC
13-1 – the smart brain protein which can stop alcoholism forever

Study focuses on binge alcohol exposure. The
whole process of binding alcohol to MUNC 13-1 goes in brain synapses. It is a
place where signal is going from one nerve cell to another. The main place
where this process begins is the presynaptic space. It is not so good known
part of the synapse mechanism.

Alcohol creates widespread and long lasting
changes in neural activity when it is in binge exposure. It takes place in
presynaptic and postsynaptic activity. The scientists were doing their study
using Drosophila genetic model system. It is a simple model but with
similarities. The equivalent of MUNC 13-1 they found is called Dunc 13.

They made a reduction of Dunc 13. It showed a
behavioral and physiological resistance to addiction of ethanol. It means that
MUNC 13-1 has a very important role in way to develop drugs for alcoholism.
This pills will have to inhibit binding alcohol to MUNC 13-1. It will reduce
its activity. The tolerance to alcohol will be smaller then. Because of this it
will be much more difficult to become addicted to alcohol.

Till
this time there is a very good medicine for alcohol abuse which is called
Naltrexone. It helps to reduce the influence of alcohol to body and you can start
going out of addiction.